All Things Conceivable: A Surrogacy Podcast

According to the CDC, surrogacy has the highest rate of success of any fertility treatment. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported IVF with a donor egg has a success rate of 52%, which is the highest of any fertility treatment. Higher still is the rate of success with a surrogate. IVF clinics in the US have a surrogacy success rate of about 75%, and that number can increase as high as 95% for a birth once the gestational carrier is pregnant.

 

Dr. Brian Kaplan with Fertility Centers of Illinois has been passionately leading the way in infertility for nearly three decades in IVF, egg donation, gestational surrogacy and more. Dr. Kaplan joined our All Things Conceivable: A Podcast with Nazca Fontes to  explain what this statistic means for intended parents and surrogates embarking on a surrogacy journey.

 

Build your family with ConceiveAbilities: https://www.conceiveabilities.com/app/parents/register

Learn more about becoming a surrogate mother with ConceiveAbilities Surrogacy Agency: https://www.conceiveabilities.com/surrogates/become-a-surrogate-mother/

Join the Surrogacy Learning Center: https://surrogacylearningcenter.conceiveabilities.com/

Find out if you qualify to become a surrogate: https://www.conceiveabilities.com/app/surrogates/register

 

Since the inception of ConceiveAbilities 25 years ago, there have been incredible advances in third party reproduction, especially in surrogacy. More and more families are turning to surrogacy to build their families and with good reason. Not only are people more open about how surrogacy has allowed them to fulfill their dream of building a family, more women are becoming surrogates.

 

 

Dr. Ashley Tiegs with the Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine and winner of the ASRM 2021 Investigator Achievement award shared her own fertility journey, what inspired her to become a Reproductive Endocrinologist and how surrogacy has helped her patients build their families on our podcast All Things Conceivable: A Surrogacy Podcast with Nazca Fontes.

 

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Learn how to become a surrogate with ConceiveAbilities Surrogacy Agency: https://conceiveabilities.com/surrogates/become-a-surrogate-mother/

Join The Surrogacy Learning Center to connect with others: https://surrogacylearningcenter.conceiveabilities.com/

Take this short survey to see if you qualify to Become a Surrogate: https://www.conceiveabilities.com/app/surrogates/register

If you have been or are planning on becoming pregnant, you know that how you eat is important for a happy and healthy pregnancy. Our All In Surrogate Care & Compensation Package includes partum care from the beginning all the way through your fourth trimester, including information on how you fuel your body. Nutrition is just as important for you, as it is for the baby you are carrying.

Kendra Aronson, founder of the newly launched Pregnant and Hungry, a subscription-based website with pregnancy-safe recipes, created a one-stop resource for everything you need to know about what to eat, and what not to eat, during your surrogacy journey.  Listen to her perspective, with Nazca Fontes, CEO of ConceiveAbilities.

Subscribe today and get your first month subscription free for ConceiveAbilities’ surrogacy community. Use the code SURROGATE at checkout for your free trial.

Learn more about becoming a surrogate and our All-In Surrogate Compensation and Care Package that extends all the way through the fourth trimester. 

Ready to begin your surrogacy journey? See if you qualify to become a surrogate.

COVID-19 Vaccine and Pregnancy: What Surrogates and Women Who Want to Be Pregnant Need to Know Now with Dr. Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron

Pregnancy and the COVID-19 vaccination is a hot topic in our fertility world today. The US Food and Drug Administration has granted full approval to the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for people age 16 and older. The CDC encourages all pregnant people or people who are thinking about becoming pregnant and those breastfeeding to get vaccinated to protect themselves from COVID-19. And the American Society for Reproductive Medicine says while all women should be strongly encouraged to receive COVID-19 vaccination when pregnant or attempting pregnancy, clinics should strongly consider requiring vaccination for gestational carriers and advise intended parents to include the requirement of vaccination of gestational carriers in their contracts.

How do you take all of that information and apply it to pregnancy and surrogacy? As we navigate the pandemic and new variants, we've been hearing a lot about the questions and concerns from all parties regarding how that impacts surrogates and our intended parents. Dr. Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron is board certified in both Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility with Fertility Centers of Illinois answered our questions about the COVID-19 vaccine and surrogacy on our podcast All Things Conceivable: A Surrogacy Podcast with Nazca Fontes.

 

Learn more about how to become a surrogate with ConceiveAbilities here.

Take this survey to see if you qualify to be a surrogate.

Leading OB-Gyn doctor, Dr. Aasta Mehta, joined us to talk about the importance of the postpartum Fourth Trimester. Dr. Mehta co-authored an article titled the Fourth Trimester: 12 Weeks Is Not Enough. She’s the Medical Officer of Women's Health for the Philadelphia Department of Health, practicing OB/GYN in Philadelphia and holds a Masters in Public Policy.  Listen as she shares her passion for partum care and the importance of recovery after birth.

Learn more about becoming a surrogate and our All-In Surrogate Compensation and Care Package with ConceiveAbilities Surrogacy and Egg Donor Agency! 

 

One of the most important relationships a woman has in her life is her relationship with her OB/Gyn doctor. We have hopeful and silly conversations as well as tough and scary conversations with our doctors. When a woman is deciding to become a surrogate, she looks to her trusted obstetrician for their guidance and expert advice.

Dr. Heather Carlson with the Mankato clinic as cared for surrogates and delivered many surro-babies in her 15 years servicing her community. Nazca Fontes, founder of ConceiveAbilities, interviewed Dr. Carlson on our new show All Things Conceivable: A Surrogacy Podcast to talk about her expert experience caring for her surrogate patients and busting surrogacy myths.

Learn more about becoming a surrogate with ConceiveAbilities Surrogacy and Egg Donor Agency! 

Host Nazca Fontes sits down with sisters Jessie and Maggie, two women who have both chosen the extraordinary path of becoming gestational surrogates with ConceiveAbilities. Jessie shares lessons from completing two surrogacy journeys, while Maggie reflects on starting her first—covering motivations, timing, relationships with intended parents, and the unforgettable emotional moments of delivery.

This episode highlights what it means to be a gestational carrier, the sacrifices and logistics involved, and the powerful bond between sisters who share the gift of helping families grow. Listeners will be inspired by the unique sisterhood that makes these life-changing journeys possible.

Inspired by Maggie and Jessica's story? Learn more about becoming a surrogate today.

 

Pioneering New York fertility expert Dr. James Grifo, director of NYU Langone Fertility Center joins the show to break down New York’s law legalizing compensated gestational surrogacy and what it means for intended parents, surrogates, clinics, and agencies.

He also discusses the legal protections now in place, why this shift matters for family building, and how advances like single embryo transfer and genetic testing are helping improve safety and outcomes in surrogacy.

 

Ready to start your journey? Learn more about building a family through surrogacy and becoming a surrogate in New York at ConceiveAbilities!

Nazca Fontes talks with Joseph Tito,, a Toronto-based director and founder of The Dad Diaries, about his journey from a globe-trotting professional to a single gay dad of twin girls through surrogacy. Joseph shares the highs and lows of five embryo transfers, a breakup, agency challenges, and the crucial support of his parents.

He reflects on surrogacy lessons learned—choosing the right agency, building a village of support, and learning to let go—and how documenting his experience has turned him into an advocate for LGBTQ family building.

Listen as Joseph shares his amazing surrogacy journey as a gay single dad and, now, his parenting adventures raising twin daughters. 

If you’re dreaming of starting your own family, ConceiveAbilities is proud to be an LGBTQ+ friendly agency—and we’d love to help you make that dream a reality.

Your family story is waiting to begin, and we’re here to walk with you every step of the way. Start your path to parenthood today.

Learn more about becoming a surrogate with ConceiveAbilities.

Fertility Specialist Dr. Marie Werner from RMA New Jersey, one of the few IVF clinics anywhere in the country that never closed this year, breaks down a truly complete and thoughtful view of what you need to know about surrogacy in the time of COVID-19, and in the years to come.  

Learn more about surrogacy at ConceiveAbilities